Archives for November 2014

My friend Jordan will be a momma any day now. I wondered if I would end up delivering the little guy the day she came over to make this nursery wall art, but he is not here yet! Today I am sharing how we created this lovely Psalm 93:4 sign for next to nothing out of pallet wood. It is so perfect in her nautical themed nursery! Download the cut file below and follow the steps to make your very own!

Mark desired placement of holes and drill with spade bit to fit diameter of rope you are using. (We have the letters covered in this image because the Mod Podge wasn’t dry and the saw dust would stick in it. Don’t judge, we were in a hurry)!

We inserted the rope and hung it from a cool anchor hardware piece that Jordan found at Hobby Lobby for just $3!

We LOVE it!! Jordan did a fantastic job with this nursery, and our sign tops it off perfectly.

Today I finally get to show you my completed DIY custom built-ins we made using the 5 Shelf Bookcases from the Sauder website Four of the bookshelves cost less than $250, so we ended up getting four more to fill our space! These are perfect for the built-in project we had in mind, and we love the result!

Here are the assembled bookshelves.

I showed you these a few months ago, before we customized them to look like built-ins here: Stylish Craft Storage with Sauder Bookcases. They looked great then, but we wanted to add trim where they meet, and wrap the tops with crown molding and bottom with the room’s baseboard to tie them into the room.

We removed the room’s baseboard on the walls where we would be putting the bookshelves.

There were several things we ran into during this project. The first was we notices the baseboard was higher than the bottom shelf, so we added a new bottom shelf with 1×12 wood to be flush with the top of the baseboard. We attached the shelves with pocket holes using the Kreg jig.

Where the bookshelves meet, we had 1.75 inches to cover, and we found the perfect trim at our local hardware store. On the edges where there was just one bookshelf wall, we put 1×12 wood as shown so the 1.75 inch trim as flush on both sides.

We started with the baseboards and used construction adhesive along with the nailer.

Luckily we found baseboard to match what was already in the room!

We found this molding at our local big box hardware store and I was elated. We didn’t have to figure out any complex angles since the molding was solid to a right angle!! Phew. You can read about our first experience cutting crown molding here: DIY Kitchen Cabinet Upgrade.

For the molding, baseboard and trim, we used construction adhesive and our cordless nailer to attach. We started with the baseboard and molding, then added the trim to cover the seams.

We found corner trim that was perfect for the corners at the hardware store. We used an unfinished cabinet door we scored for free on Craigslist as a desk in between shelves!

Above the desk we placed three 1×6 shelves, attaching them to the wall stud and bookshelves on both sides using pocket holes.

These bookshelves are great as they come. With just a few supplies and a day’s time, you can customize them for designer built-in style!

Visit Sauder for more than 30 distinct, affordable furniture collections in a full
line of ready to assemble furnishings for your home, including entertainment, home office, bedroom, kitchen and storage!

Today I am sharing with you a simple way to add some wintery snowflake decor to your house for the season! This project is super quick, easy and cheap with the right supplies. I love it with the first snowfall of the season painting the landscape beyond the window. Perfect!

SUPPLIES

White paper (I used filter paper I was given from the local recycling center)

Display your business cards in eco-friendly style with this simple wine cork to card display upcycle. The same cork can be used for placeholder cards, or to display gift cards, just in time for the holidays. This project is free and requires just a cork and a craft knife!

MATERIALS

Cork

Craft Knife

Gift card or Credit card

Business cards

DIRECTIONS

Use the craft knife to level the bottom of your cork by shaving a small section flat, down the length of the cork.

On the opposite side of the cork, make a slice with the knife down the length of the cork.

Make the slit wider by running a credit/gift card down the length of the slit.

I told you it was easy! You could add a string to one end of the cork and hang these on your Christmas tree with gift cards, or set them next to the stockings on the mantel as a creative way to display your gift cards!

Since the mid 1800’s, we have been counting down to Christmas with advent calendars, and the tradition continues. It is a favorite childhood Christmas memory for people around the globe. Get a jump start on your Christmas anticipation with this round-up of 25 amazing DIY advent calendars you can make!

So, I am crazy excited to share today’s jewelry tutorial with you. These earrings are my go to piece for several reasons. They are beautiful, unique and go with all kinds of outfits. I got the idea when flattening wine bottles in my kiln. I remembered the tiny bottles, or vials that people fill with mica powder and little notes and thought it would be so cool to flatten them. I wasn’t sure what I would do with them flat, but as soon as the kiln cooled and I laid eyes on them, I knew I wanted to wire wrap and wear them!

MATERIALS

TUTORIAL

Fuse your bottles, one at a time in your microwave kiln. I showed you how to use that here: DIY Wine Bottle Earrings. You can also use a regular kiln if you have that. Let them cool to room temperature before continuing.

Cut 7 inches of wire and string 5 beads onto it.

Place beads in front and situate wire at neck of fused bottle as shown.

Bring the left side wire around the bottle neck and back to the front as shown.

Wrap both wire ends around the neck a few times, ending with 2 wire tails in the back as shown.

Wrap the two ends as shown so that they are vertical.

Coil one end around the other as shown.

Trim the end of the wire you just coiled.

Use the flat nose pliers to bend the remaining tail to form a 90 degree angle.

With the round nose pliers, form a loop as shown.

Thread the ear wire onto the loop, then trim the excess tail.

I love them! I can’t wait to make more. Next I will use clear vials and color them with alcohol ink. Exciting stuff!

Display meaningful photos in a unique way while busting through your stash of vintage buttons, ribbons, fabric scraps and found objects. These little medicine bottles can be found in thrift stores, at tag sales and online for cheap. Use them for Christmas gifts, or as photo frames for yourself!

MATERIALS

-Variety of antique medicine and food bottles

-Photos sized to fit in bottles and printed in black and white or sepia tone on copy paper

-Glitter, sand or other filler

-Found objects, beads, vintage buttons, old keys and other embellishments

-Decorative ribbon, twine, lace, burlap and fabric scraps

-Corks for bottle tops

-Copper craft wire gauge 20-22

-wire cutter

-scissors

-hot glue

-Bamboo skewer or pencil

DIRECTIONS

Clean bottle and remove any labels. Let dry.

Add sand or glitter using funnel or folded paper scrap

Drop in a few beads, buttons or other small meaningful objects.

Roll the photo into a tube and insert it into the bottle. Use a skewer to unroll it and flatten it against the inner surface of the bottle.

Embellish outside of bottle with ribbon, lace, twine, vintage pearls and other scraps. Glue on buttons and found objects with hot glue.

Place cork in bottle and embellish with vintage buttons, beads or brooches. Secure with wire wrapped around cork and through button. Add a dab of hot glue at the base of the button to hold in place on top of the cork.

Today I’d like to share with you a little project we did as a part of our vintage farmhouse kitchen makeover. Thanks to Moen, we were able to replace our old, ugly, leaky faucets with some beautiful new ones. The selection of styles and finishes is extensive, the ordering and shipping process a breeze, the packaging and instructions were very clear and easy to follow. All of this together made for a really easy install that anyone with a basic knowledge of home plumbing can pull off, no problem. Here is how we did it!

Here you can see our old original faucet set-up. It was the traditional one handle delta mixing valve faucet that was well past its useful life time. We had a sprayer attachment that would only work if the flow through the faucet head was adjusted way back so as not create a large suction and collapse the line. Our set-up also included an extra Spigot for a RO (reverse osmosis) water system that you will see in later pics.

After picking out the replacements of choice for each of these fixtures we placed the order and within a week the new components arrived.

The box of stuff was well organized and nicely packaged. They supplied we needed to install with the exception of a screw driver and wrench. I also used some Teflon tape on a couple of the fittings that were unique to our existing kitchen plumbing.

The first thing I did using the supplied parts list was to take everything out of the box and lay it out on the floor. This not only helped me make sure I got everything but also let me visualize the tubing connections and the location of each of the fixtures relative to one another. This way I could get a feel for how the whole thing was going to fit-up.

You can see that one difference the new fixture has over the old is that the mixing valve on the new one (the on-off, hot-cold handle) is a separate fixture from the faucet itself. In the old one they were combined into a one piece unit. This meant that for the new installation I needed to make sure that my existing sink (which I planned on keeping) had holes cut out for that many fixtures. Just looking at the old fixture it appeared that there were only three fixtures. I needed to begin the demo of the old one to confirm.

The first thing I did was turn off the water supply to the existing faucet and RO water system and open the faucet handle to relieve any internal pressure and to be sure that the water shutoffs were completely closed. Old valves tend to lime up in our area of the country and sometimes valves don’t seat well.

After the water was turned off it was a simple disconnect of one line for the RO water filter system and removal of one large nut on the bottom of the existing faucet and they both slid out. As you can see from the picture above when I pulled the old faucet fixture away from the sink I was pleased to see that there were in fact 2 additional holes already cut into the sink so I would actually have one more than I needed for all of the new fixtures to fit.

From this point forward I simply followed the supplied Instruction Guide. The Guide is very complete and descriptive of each step along the way. The drawings were accurate and easy to follow. It truly was a very simple installation. The design of the supply line quick-connect fittings made the hook up super simple and leak free. Not to mention the ease with which you can disconnect and reconnect if you need to without any problems.

Here you sees the new lines and fixtures in place ready turn on. The RO system is connected and is also ready for operation.

Finally, the install is complete. A cover plug was purchased at the big box store for a couple bucks to plug the open hole in the sink that we didn’t need.

In total the demolition and installation took a little over 2 hours. It was really simple and the Moen fixtures are an amazing addition to our kitchen. We couldn’t be happier with our choice of the finish and the style choice.

You can see more on our kitchen renovation, which has been a long process! Just click the photos below for detailed tutorials:

Thanks to Moen for sending us these great faucets! Stay tuned for install of the matching cabinet hardware they sent. Be sure to follow them for new products and updates:

Handmade lanterns are all the rage. With adhesive stencils and paints made just for glass, creating fun designs on bottle is easier than ever. This project involves cutting the bottles roughly in half. Frost and glitter paint are used with heart stickers in a masking technique, so that light from the candles shines through the frosty heart shapes. Create a warm glow for your Valentine’s Day dinner at home!

Remove labels with soapy water or Krylon Adhesive Remover. Clean and dry bottles.

Cut bottles roughly in half. You don’t have to be exact. You just want to be able to lift off the top and place a votive candle inside when you are finished.

Protect your work area with newspaper or craft sheet.

Paint bottles by dabbing thin layer of frosty glass paint in white with a cosmetic sponge. Don’t go over the same area more than once. It is best to apply several light layers, allowing 10-15 minutes of dry time between to achieve the look you want. Applying too heavily leads to streaks and splotches that you won’t like. Once you are happy with coverage (1-3 coats should do it) let dry for about 30 minutes before moving onto the next step.

Vinyl and foil tape work well for heart stickers. Cut out hearts using die cut machine, freehand or template (see Hearts page ?)

Apply Heart stickers where you want light to come through the frosty heart. I went for almost center, spanning the cut seam.

Paint one jar with glitter pink, and the other with glitter red. Several light layers with 10 minutes or more dry time in between is best.

After your final layer, remove the heart stickers with tweezers or a craft knife, being careful not to smudge adjacent paint.

Let dry overnight, with top and bottom apart so that they don’t dry stuck together.

Lift off top and place candle.

Light and enjoy!

EXTRA TIPS

￮ Masking Tips – Foil tape in the electrical section at the hardware store works great for these projects. It adheres well so that the paint doesn’t seep underneath, but doesn’t disturb any base layers of paint when removed. A large roll of it is under $8 and lasts years. Don’t leave the stickers on overnight, or the surrounding paint will peel away with them upon removal. You want to remove them soon after your last coat of paint.